Today’s song is “Hey Maria” by Sara Ontaneda. Hailing from Miami Florida, the New York City singer-songwriter has been playing music since she discoverd her passion at a young child.
At age seven Sara started playing the piano and then joined her school’s musical choir. She also studied classical music during her childhood within Guayaquil, Ecuador and Miami whre she split her time. Carrying this love for music through the years she went on to the Berklee College of Music where she majored in Contemporary Writing and Production. She graduated with honors and received scholarship awards for her efforts.
2015 she released an EP entitled Marte y Júpiter which she wrote, recorded, and produced. The positive reviews led to tours in Ecuador as well as many cities in the US including SXSW, MUSIKFEST, and South Florida Folk Festival.
Tw years later she relseased her debut album Entre Espacios y Colores which includes 4 songs in English and 5 in Spanish. Sonically, the album blends South-American, R&B, and Alternative elements and is often described as Nu-Latin. With many accoldades including the Huffington Post calling it “an excellent album overall, with mainstream appeal…”
On April 2019 Sara won the award for “Best World Music” at the Richmond Film and Music Festival. Recently, Sara won the “Artist Revelation of the Year” award at the Premios Unidad in NYC (Ecuadorian Music Awards). Sara continues to tour internationally, playing music from the heart. “Hey Maria”, her newest single comes out on August 26 and will be available in all streaming platforms.
The inspiration behind “Hey Maria” came when the singer was visiting her family in Ecuador and the TV was on. The news channel she was watching was talking about the shocking statistics of Femicide and Violence Against Women in Latin America and the world. The singer realized how a lot of times women are judged unfairly when getting into these situations.
Sara’s sound blends serious and heartfelt lyrics with inviting and delectable melodies that blend of pop, R&B with folk for a dreamy and airy light musicscape that makes you feel like you can float away.
Listen below and for more information on Sara Ontaneda check out her Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages.